Cooktop ventilation and cooling system

Abstract

A domestic cooking appliance is provided. The appliance includes an oven having an oven exhaust duct located above the oven, and an exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the oven exhaust duct and out of an exhaust opening located at an upper rear location of the oven; and a cooktop located above the oven, the cooktop having a main unit configured to be positioned above the oven and having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the main unit, the ventilation system having a cooling air inlet located at a bottom front of the main unit and above the oven, and a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A domestic cooking appliance, comprising:
 an oven having
 an oven exhaust duct located above the oven, and 
 an exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the oven exhaust duct and out of an exhaust opening located at an upper rear location of the oven; and 
   a cooktop located above the oven, the cooktop having
 a cooktop main unit positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and 
 a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having
 a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and located above the oven, and 
 a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop inlet duct fluidly connected to the cooling air inlet and positioned above the oven air exhaust duct such that the cooktop inlet duct and the oven air exhaust duct are separate ducts, the cooktop inlet duct having an outlet end that is positioned underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one. 
     
     
         3 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 2 , further comprising a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to the second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct. 
     
     
         4 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one, and the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct. 
     
     
         5 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the cooktop is an induction cooktop. 
     
     
         6 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the oven further comprises an exhaust fan, and the ventilation system uses the exhaust fan for moving cooling air though the cooling air inlet and the cooktop duct. 
     
     
         7 . The domestic cooking appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and
 the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit.   
     
     
         8 . A domestic cooktop for locating above a top of a domestic oven, the domestic oven having an oven air exhaust duct located on the top of the domestic oven and an oven exhaust outlet located at the top of the domestic oven nearer a back of the domestic oven than to a front of the domestic oven, the cooktop comprising:
 a cooktop main unit configured to be positioned above the oven, the cooktop main unit having a container support for supporting cooking containers to be heated by the cooktop; and   a ventilation system for routing cooling air through the cooktop main unit, the ventilation system having
 a cooling air inlet located at a bottom of a front of the cooktop main unit and configured to be located above the oven, and 
 a cooktop duct that channels the cooling air from the cooling air inlet to the container support or channels the cooling air from the container support to the oven air exhaust duct. 
   
     
     
         9 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 8 , wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop inlet duct fluidly connected to the cooling air inlet and positioned above the oven air exhaust duct such that the cooktop inlet duct and the oven air exhaust duct are separate ducts, the cooktop inlet duct having an outlet end that is positioned underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one. 
     
     
         10 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 9 , further comprising a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to the second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct. 
     
     
         11 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 8 , wherein the cooktop duct is a cooktop exhaust duct having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being located underneath the container support at a location that is nearer to a first one of the front of the cooktop main unit and a back of the cooktop main unit than it is to a second one of the front of the cooktop main unit and the back of the cooktop main unit, the first one being different from the second one, and the outlet of the cooktop exhaust duct being configured to fluidly attach to the oven air exhaust duct. 
     
     
         12 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 8 , wherein the cooktop is an induction cooktop. 
     
     
         13 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 8 , wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though the cooling air inlet and the cooktop duct. 
     
     
         14 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 10 , wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though cooktop inlet duct and the cooktop exhaust duct. 
     
     
         15 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 14 , further comprising a cooktop exhaust outlet configured to fluidly connect to the oven exhaust outlet, the cooktop exhaust outlet being located at an upper rear location of the cooktop main unit. 
     
     
         16 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 15 , wherein the cooktop is configured to route the cooling air through the cooling air inlet, then through the cooktop inlet duct, then under the container support, then through the cooktop exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust outlet, and then through the cooktop exhaust outlet. 
     
     
         17 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 16 , wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and
 the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit.   
     
     
         18 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 17 , wherein the ventilation system is configured to use an exhaust fan of the oven for moving cooling air though the cooktop inlet duct and the cooktop exhaust duct. 
     
     
         19 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 18 , wherein the cooktop is configured to route the cooling air through the cooling air inlet, then through the cooktop inlet duct, then under the container support, then through the cooktop exhaust duct, then through the oven air exhaust duct, and then through the oven air exhaust outlet. 
     
     
         20 . The domestic cooktop of  claim 10 , wherein the outlet end of the cooktop inlet duct is positioned at a location that is nearer to the back of the cooktop main unit than it is to the front of the cooktop main unit, and
 the inlet of the cooktop exhaust duct is located at a location that is nearer to the front of the cooktop main unit than it is to the back of the cooktop main unit.